Term
|
Definition
| A legislature composed of individuals who represent the population. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Rights held to be inherent in natural law, not dependent on governments.
John Locke state that natural law, being superior to human law, specifies certain rights of "life, liberty, and property." These rights, altered to become " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," are asserted in the Declaration of Independence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A voluntary agreement among individuals to secure their rights and welfare by creating government and abiding by its rules. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
A legislature with only one legislative chamber, as opposed to a bicameral legislature, such as the US Congress.
Today, Nebraska is the only state in the Union with a unicameral legislature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A political system in which states or regional governments retain ultimate authority except for those powers they expressly delegate to a central government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A group of people occupying a specific area and organized under one government. It may be either a nation or a subunit of a nation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A legislature made up of two parts, called chambers. The US Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and the Senate, is a bicameral legislature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A doctrine that asserts the priority of national law over state laws. This principle is stated in Article VI of the Constitution. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The compromise between the New Jersey and Virginia plans that created one chamber of the Congress based on population and one chamber representing each state equally, also called the Connecticut Compromise. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The principle of dividing governmental powers among different branches of government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A structure of government proposed by James Madison, in which the powers of the government are separated into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A major principle of the American system of government whereby each branch of the government can check the actions of the others. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A group of persons, called electors that officially elects the president and the vice president of the United States. The electors are selected by the voters in each state and in the District of Columbia. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An individual who was in favor of the adoption of the US Constitution and the creation of the federal union with a strong central government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An individual who opposed the ratification of the new Constitution in 1787. The Anti-Federalists were opposed to a strong central government. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The power of the Supreme Court or any court to examine and possibly declare unconstitutional federal or state laws and other acts of government. |
|
|
